Annual Dinner

Professor Colin Roberts practices as an International Natural Resources Geo‐strategist. He is an International Commercial and Investment Arbitrator, Chartered Petroleum Engineer, Chartered Mining Engineer, Chartered Scientist, Resources & Investment Legal Academic, Accredited International Commercial Mediator, Adjudicator, Expert Determiner and Dispute Board Member, with over 50 years of multi-disciplinary resource industry experience, most of which has been in the developing world.

Colin is also a Professor at WASM: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering - Curtin University, a member of Raffles Chambers – London and Director of Natural Resource Geo‐Strategy (NRG), Resource Dispute Resolution (RDR), and the Centre for International Dispute Resolution (CIDR).

After military service, Colin started his resources career as a driller and then mining and petroleum engineer. He now specializes in dispute resolution, mitigation of sovereign risk, advising governments in resources law and policy and facilitation of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the resources, energy, and infrastructure sectors. Fifty percent (25%) of Colin’s time is donated pro bono publico.

Colin holds, and has held, numerous public and private directorships, and among others was for eight years, the Honorary Investment Consul for Pakistan in Australia, Authorized Emissary for the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) ‐ World Bank Group, Australian Consular Warden – Zambia, Past Chairman of the AusIMM‐WA, Past-Chairman of the Mining Institute of Scotland, Past‐Chairman of the Society of Petroleum Engineers–WA (SPE) and has served or is serving on committees and boards of Energy Resources Law (formerly AMPLA), Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), Australian Institute of Energy (AIE), and others.

In his spare time, he serves as Patron of the International Bar Association (IBA), the AusIMM Professional Conduct Committee and the AusIMM Perth Branch Committee.

Dr. Ivor Roberts has been a senior public servant in Western Australia's state government since 2010. He began his tenure as the Executive Director of Mineral Titles within the Department of Mines and Petroleum, where he led significant reforms, including the introduction of online systems and revisions to the Mining Act 1978.

Dr. Roberts took on the role of Executive Director within the Regulatory Support Division of the WorkSafe Group, after the amalgamation of the Mines and Commerce agencies in 2018. Here, he played a key role in the development and successful enactment of the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 and its associated regulations, enhancing safety standards across all industries, in Western Australia. Dr. Roberts has also been integral to the establishment of the State Government’s Mental Awareness, Respect, and Safety (MARS) Program. This comprehensive initiative aims to improve the mental health, safety, and overall well-being of workers in the Western Australian mining sector.

Prior to his senior executive roles, Dr. Roberts served as the Manager of Mineral Resources at the Geological Survey of Western Australia and as the Regional Manager of the Geological Survey in Kalgoorlie. His career also includes academic positions at the University of New South Wales and the Western Australian School of Mines.
Currently, Dr. Roberts is the acting Deputy WorkSafe Commissioner for Western Australia.

Olivia Ash is a student at the University of Western Australia, studying to complete her Master of Professional Engineering in Mining. She is a past president of the AusIMM UWA Student Chapter and is a major advocate for the mining industry and opportunities available within it. Despite attending high school in one of the biggest mining states in the world, the resources sector was never presented to her as a career option, and it was by complete chance she stumbled into her first internship. Olivia uses AusIMM and her other committees such as Get Into Resources to connect with students early, and make sure they don’t miss out on the amazing opportunities she nearly did. Now, Olivia works as a Vacation Mining Engineer at Genesis Minerals hoping to one day obtain her First Class Mine Manager’s ticket. She uses her site experience and connections from the student chapter to promote the industry, hoping to equip other students with the confidence to make the switch to mining just like she did.